And it was Tony Conroy's first love. "I began my love affair with the Karmann Ghia as a schoolboy," the 52-year-old says.
"I remember vividly asking my dad 'What's that?' when I saw my first one as a youngster. I was eight or nine at the time, and this one particular Karmann was always traveling behind the old school bus.
The beautiful shape of the car could almost make it a poor man's Porsche, if not a rich man's Vee Dub."
Conroy spent years searching for a suitable car to buy, but they were either outside his budget or needed too much restoration. He even considered importing a left-hand-drive version from the US.
In 2005, he found a 1959 model while passing through Sydney on his way home from holidays, bought it for $12,500 and had it shipped home to Adelaide.
"The body work was pretty good but it just needed a bit of work inside," he says. "I must confess the Karmann Ghia is only a pretend sports car. Although it has gorgeous drop-dead looks and oozes elegance, it has the running gear and engine of your standard early '60s VW Beetle."
However, the body is styled by designer Luigi Segre of the famed Italian Ghia design studio with hand-built bodywork by German coach-builder Karmann.
"In my model's case, it left the factory with a 1192cc (25kW) engine, however as the original died I have taken the opportunity to upgrade the engine's performance to a more respectable 1600cc," he says.
"My son-in-law, Adam, effectively rebuilt the engine, and Adam also comes in handy as he is a specialised VW mechanic." The Karmann Ghia came with a four-speed floor-shift gearbox and Beetle air-cooled rear engine.
The spare wheel, fuel tank and small boot area are under the bonnet while there is compact luggage space behind the rear seats. The spare tyre also plays an integral role in the overall weight distribution and balance of the car.
"The car is beautiful to drive, you are seated quite low and the car itself is low and for a car of its age it's extremely smooth and zippy on the corners," he says. "I know it is just a car but the way our lives have been changed with the ownership of this vehicle is simply amazing and there are too many stories to tell.
"The one highlight was my daughter having it as her chauffeured limousine on her wedding day with dad being the driver, of course the front passenger seat had to be extracted so Kathleen with her wedding gown could squeeze in and sit on the rear seat."
Conroy uses the car as a daily driver and would never sell it. "If you let it slip through your fingers you'll never get another one," he says. "It took about seven years for this one to fall in my lap."
Karmann Ghia
Year: August 1959
Price New: $3000
Price Now: $12-30,000 (valued at $25,000)
Engine: 1200cc (original), 1600cc (replacement)
Body: 2-door coupe
Transmission: 4-speed manual.
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